Gastrointestinal Tract News and Research

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Study: Environment changes can impact stability landscape of the gut microbial community

Your fingerprints stay the same all your life. But what about the "fingerprint" of microbial strains that are shared in the guts of childhood twins?

9 Jan 2020

Structure of most lethal toxin produced by C. difficile bacteria identified

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and their colleagues have identified the structure of the most lethal toxin produced by certain strains of Clostridium difficile bacteria, a potentially deadly infection associated with the use of antibiotics. The

2 Jan 2020

Scientists extract complete human genome from a thousands-of-years old “chewing gum”

It seems that chewing gum is not a new trend! Researchers have found chewing gum that is 5,700 years old and it has provided clues regarding ancient DNA. A study with the findings was published in the journal Nature Communications. It is titled, “A 5,700-year-old human genome and oral microbiome from chewed birch pitch.”

18 Dec 2019

Researchers identify protein that is key for successful viral DNA uncoating

Viruses have been part of animals and humans for eons. When viruses invade a cell, they can infiltrate the nucleus with their genome and become part of the genome of the infected organism. Viruses transfer their genes between various organisms, as well as between tissues containing well differentiated cells inside a living creature. But how they uncoat their well-packed genes and release them to cause infection is largely unknown.

17 Dec 2019

Novel drug from Amazon rainforest tree sap evaluated for treatment of chronic idiopathic diarrhea in non-HIV patients

A drug purified and developed from the sap of a tree in the Amazon rainforest is now being studied for the treatment of chronic idiopathic diarrhea in non-HIV patients at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston as part of a two-year pilot study.

16 Dec 2019

New concepts for efficient, reliable risk assessment of nanomaterials

From dyes to construction materials, and from cosmetic products to electronics and medicine, nanomaterials are found in many different applications. But what are these materials? "Nanomaterials are defined purely by their size," explains Dr Kristin Schubert from the Department of Molecular Systems Biology at UFZ.

16 Dec 2019

Scientists develop an approach to vaccinate against gut inflammation

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term that describes many disorders that involve chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These conditions are tied to certain alternations in the gut flora.

12 Dec 2019

Light to moderate lifetime alcohol use raises cancer risk

There have been conflicting reports on health benefits and harm caused by drinking alcohol. A new study from Japanese researchers has proven that taking one drink a day for a decade or two drinks for five years can raise the risk of getting cancers by 5 percent. The study titled “Light to moderate amount of lifetime alcohol consumption and risk of cancer in Japan,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Cancer.

11 Dec 2019

Clinical trial eligibility criteria may be excessive, needlessly excluding patients

Federal regulations may keep lung cancer patients out of clinical trials simply because these patients are on medications that might affect the electrical system of the heart. Drilling into the details quickly turns up reasons to think these regulations may be preventing a substantial proportion of patients from participating in clinical trials.

10 Dec 2019

Yeasts derived from food can reduce multi-drug resistant fungal infections

A study by researchers in the United States and India has shown that probiotic yeasts derived from food are able to reduce the virulence of, and even prevent infections by, several types of fungi that are responsible for life-threatening infections in hospitalized and immune-compromised individuals, including the multi-drug resistant Candida auris, which was recently listed as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in its 2019 Antibiotic Resistance Threats report.

10 Dec 2019

SDSU researchers show cancer-inhibiting potential of flavonoid metabolite

Eating fruits and vegetables is more important than ever.

2 Dec 2019

Anal cancer diagnoses and death rates have increased dramatically over the last 15 years

Rates of new anal cancer diagnoses and deaths related to human papillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted infection, have increased dramatically over the last 15 years, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

19 Nov 2019

UMass Amherst professor wins 2019 Nils Foss Excellence Prize for pioneering work in food design

University of Massachusetts Amherst Distinguished Professor David Julian McClements was honored Monday in Hillerød, Denmark, with the 2019 Nils Foss Excellence Prize for his pioneering work in food design and nanotechnology.

18 Nov 2019

New treatment stops peanut allergy for 6 weeks with single dose

A small study published in the journal JCI Insight on November 14, 2019, suggests that antibody treatment could help people with severe allergy to peanuts eat a small amount of peanut-containing food just two weeks later, without any ill effects. This seems to show that this is a safe, fast and effective treatment for food allergy.

14 Nov 2019

Short-term increases in sugar consumption could raise risk of inflammatory bowel disease

Short-term increases in sugar consumption could increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease and have a significant impact on our health, a new study out of the University of Alberta suggests.

14 Nov 2019

New insights into how immune system and inflammation play a role in PD

Relatively new research findings indicating that the earliest stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) may occur in the gut have been gaining traction in recent years. In a review published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, Tomasz Brudek, PhD, evaluates evidence for the association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and PD and proposes directions for future research.

14 Nov 2019

Eradicating H pylori infection significantly reduces gastric cancer risk

While it is well known within the medical community that there is a link between the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) and rates of gastric cancer- commonly referred to as stomach cancer - the rates and risk among Americans has been largely understudied.

14 Nov 2019

Gastrointestinal Tract News and Research

Study: Environment changes can impact stability landscape of the gut microbial community

Structure of most lethal toxin produced by C. difficile bacteria identified

Scientists extract complete human genome from a thousands-of-years old “chewing gum”

Researchers identify protein that is key for successful viral DNA uncoating

Novel drug from Amazon rainforest tree sap evaluated for treatment of chronic idiopathic diarrhea in non-HIV patients

New concepts for efficient, reliable risk assessment of nanomaterials

Scientists develop an approach to vaccinate against gut inflammation

Light to moderate lifetime alcohol use raises cancer risk

Clinical trial eligibility criteria may be excessive, needlessly excluding patients

Yeasts derived from food can reduce multi-drug resistant fungal infections

SDSU researchers show cancer-inhibiting potential of flavonoid metabolite

Anal cancer diagnoses and death rates have increased dramatically over the last 15 years

UMass Amherst professor wins 2019 Nils Foss Excellence Prize for pioneering work in food design

New treatment stops peanut allergy for 6 weeks with single dose

Short-term increases in sugar consumption could raise risk of inflammatory bowel disease

New insights into how immune system and inflammation play a role in PD

Eradicating H pylori infection significantly reduces gastric cancer risk

Study reveals safety, efficacy of live zoster vaccine for people taking TNF inhibitors

Three UCLA researchers receive multimillion-dollar grant from state's stem cell agency

Study provides a first look into black box of embryonic development

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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